Sue chambo and I are planning a holiday to the US in Sept / Oct 2014. We plan to stay in College Station, TX, for a few days then to Missouri, DC, VT and coming home via Seattle or Hawaii. Dates will be from 10th Sept to 3rd Oct. Apart from the 4 nights in College Station the remainder at this stage is fairly flexible.
Please let me know if you would like to GTG as we need to book and finalise accommodation.

Some carriers don't publish fares there, however, such as Southwest. We've been flying Southwest a lot lately. No baggage fees, and you can change your flight at any time and only pay the difference in cost (no change fees).

Some carriers don't publish fares there, however, such as Southwest. We've been flying Southwest a lot lately. No baggage fees, and you can change your flight at any time and only pay the difference in cost (no change fees).

. . .
Also, re Southwest, just be aware that they don't have reserved seats. They board in groups and its a bit of a free for all

We fly Southwest all the time - by choice. You can pay a bit extra for an early number and have your pick of the seats. We never do. You can also get a boarding number on line no earlier than 24 hours in advance. We always try to do that. I don't care whether I sit front or back (but not the back row where the seats don't recline), but I like an aisle. I'd say I get one 90% of the time. And since they hook shorter flights up to make longer ones, if your trip is long, you are likely to be on one of those. When they land the first time, you can take your pick of the seats for the rest of the flight. Just sayin' I actually wish other airlines had boarding that was as efficient as SW's. And no, I have never worked for them nor do I know anyone who has :)

Thank you all. That gives Sue chambo and me a good starting point. There seems to be so many airlines to choose from. We are trying to organise direct flights where possible to minimise wasting time. Will keep you posted as we firm up the itinerary

I fly a lot for work, and stick mostly to Frontier. United some as well. United is pricier, but they have a lot more flights, and many more direct. Frontier is better priced by a fair amount, but doesn't fly as many places or as often. They both charge for baggage, save for one carry on.